Box office: ‘The Mortal Instruments’ off to a slow start

“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” may have a lot in common with “The Twilight Saga,” but the film won’t touch the stellar box office receipts of that hit franchise.

The supernatural teen film, adapted from the first book in Cassandra Clare’s popular YA book series, opened at No. 1 at the Wednesday box office with a toothless $3 million.

Directed by Harold Zwart (“The Karate Kid” remake) and budgeted at a relatively lean $60 million, “Bones” will likely earn around $15 million in its five-day weekend debut.

Other post-“Twilight” YA adaptations such as this year’s “Beautiful Creatures” and “The Host” have also disappointed at the box office.

By comparison, the opening day gross for the first “Twilight” film was a huge $35.9 million in 2008. It went on to sink its teeth into $69 million in its first weekend.

“Bones” stars Lily Collins as a young girl who finds herself thrust into a hidden war between supernatural creatures, where she takes her place in an elite race of half-human/half-angel warriors. It also stars Jared Harris, Kevin Zegers, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Godfrey Gao.

In the meantime, “Bones” will face fairly stiff competition this weekend, as Edgar Wright’s “The World’s End” and the horror film “You’re Next” both open on Friday. Likewise, holdovers “Lee Daniel’s The Butler” and “We’re the Millers” will also continue to attract moviegoers.